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Native  Clergy  For 
Mission  Countries 


The  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  Joseph  Freri,  D.C.L. 

MISSIONARY  APOSTOLIC 


Press  of  the  Society 
For  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith 


343  LEXINGTON  AVENUE 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Slow  Progress  of  the  Missions i 

Insufficient  Number  of  Workers 2 

Effects  of  the  War  on  the  Missions 3 

The  Church  Wants  Native  Clergy 4 

Number  of  Native  Priests  in  the  Far  East 5 

Seminaries  in  Mission  Countries 5 

The  Course  of  Study 6 

Discipline  and  Religious  Training 7 

How  Seminarians  are  Tried 9 

Do  Natives  Make  Good  Priests? 9 

Work  of  the  Native  Clergy. 10 

Native  Priests  May  Save  the  Church  in  Their  Countries 11 

Why  Not  a Larger  Number  of  Native  Priests? 12 

Cost  of  Maintaining  a Student  in  a Seminary 13 

Cost  of  Founding  a Burse 14 

An  Appeal 16 


Copyright,  1917, 

The  American  Ecclesiastical  Review. 


Native  Clergy  for  Mission 
Countries 


HE  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  exists  to 


1 provide  funds,  not  men,  for  the  mission  field.  In  so  far, 
however,  as  money  can  replace  or  multiply  men  we  shall  be 
within  our  sphere  if  we  try  to  devise  some  means,  at  the  present 
crisis,  of  providing  against  the  fatal  shortage  of  men  which 
threatens  the  missions  in  the  near  future. 


Slow  Progress  of  the  Missions. 


Friends  of  the  missions — and  all  those  who  have  the  true 
love  of  God  in  their  hearts  are  their  friends — ask  sometimes; 
“ Why  has  not  the  Church  made  greater  progress  among  in- 
fidels and  pagans?  For  1900  years  she  has  sent  apostles  to 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  yet  out  of  fifteen  hundred  millions 
of  human  beings,  hardly  three  hundred  millions  are  in  the  fold. 
Yes,  we  have  heard  of  the  zeal  and  devotion  of  our  mission- 
aries, and  of  the  wonderful  results  they  obtain  with  the  slender 
means  at  their  disposal ; but  how  slow  their  progress ! At  that 
rate,  when  will  the  world  be  converted?”  And  these  good 
people  are  pained,  and  somewhat  scandalized  at  the  apparent 
failure  of  Christianity,  which  fact  its  enemies  do  not  fail  to 
use  as  an  argument  against  its  Divinity. 

There  are  many  obstacles  to  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  be- 
sides the  powers  of  darkness,  as  active  to-day  as  in  the  time 
of  our  Lord.  The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  consider  and  to 
ask  aid  in  remedying  one  of  the  causes  which  delay  the  Chris- 
tianization of  the  world;  viz.  the  lack  of  missionaries. 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


Insufficient  Number  of  Workers. 

It  is  an  indisputable  fact  that  the  number  of  workers  in  the 
mission  field  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  task  to  be  performed. 
A glance  at  the  statistics  of  those  countries  which  are  still 
pagan  or  where  Christianity  is  the  religion  of  an  insignificant 
minority  will  demonstrate  our  assertion  more  eloquently  than 
any  words.  Although  approximative,  these  statistics  will  give 
a fair  idea  of  the  state  of  affairs. 


Japan  and  Corea 

Total  population 62,000,000 

Number  of  Catholics 162,000 

Number  of  priests 282 


which  means  that  there  is  one  priest  ministering  to  575  Catho- 
lics and  working  for  the  conversion  of  220,000  infidels. 


China 

Total  population 420,000,000 

Number  of  Catholics 1,820,000 

Number  of  priests 2,380 

or,  one  priest  for  768  Catholics  and  179,193  pagans. 

Indo-China 

Total  population 42,000,000 

Number  of  Catholics 1,035,000 

Number  of  priests 1,081 


or,  one  priest  for  957  Catholics  and  40,000  pagans. 


India 

Total  population 294,000,000 

Number  of  Catholics 2,400,000 

Number  of  priests  in  mission  districts 2,800 


or,  one  priest  for  858  Catholics  and  105,000  pagans. 


Africa 

Population  of  mission  districts 157,000,000 

Number  of  Catholics 750,000 

Number  of  priests 1,903 


or,  one  priest  for  400  Catholics  and  82,000  infidels. 

2 


NATIVE  CLERGY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF  NAGASAKI  (JAPAN). 


STUDENTS  OF  THE  SEMINARY  OF  CANTON  (CHINA). 


NATIVE  SEMINARIANS  OF  TONKIN. 


A CHINESE  PRIEST  TEACHING  CATECHISM 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


Oceanica 

Population  of  mission  districts 4,000,000 

Number  of  Catholics 130,000 

Number  of  priests 360 

or,  one  priest  for  306  Catholics  and  1 1 1,000  infidels. 

In  these  statistics  we  suppose  that  every  one  of  the  priests  is 
engaged  in  parochial  work,  which  is  not  the  case.  Not  a few 
of  them  are  professors  in  colleges  and  seminaries ; chaplains  in 
hospitals;  others  are  on  the  retired  list  on  account  of  age,  in- 
firmity, etc.,  which  reduces  considerably  the  number  of  work- 
ers. As  a matter  of  fact,  in  certain  dioceses,  for  instance  in 
India,  it  is  not  unusual  for  one  priest  to  minister  to  three  and 
even  jour  thousand  Catholics.  If  we  keep  this  in  mind  and 
consider  the  obstacles  to  apostolic  labors  caused  by  poverty, 
climate,  language,  distances,  etc.,  not  to  speak  of  continual 
opposition  and  occasional  persecution,  we  may  wonder  that 
our  missionaries  report  any  progress  at  all. 

Effects  of  the  War  on  the  Missions. 

All  over  the  world  the  Church  is  affected  by  the  war.  Its 
disastrous  consequences  are  far-reaching  and  will  be  felt  for 
many  years  to  come.  Our  missions  are  not  merely  suffering, 
but  their  very  existence  in  a number  of  places  is  threatened, 
not  so  much  because  of  lack  of  funds  as  because  of  lack  of 
missionaries. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  three-fourths  of  the  mission- 
aries were  of  French  nationality.  Owing  to  an  iniquitous  law 
a large  number  of  them  were  called  to  the  colors.  Whether 
those  living  under  a foreign  flag  should  have  answered  the 
call  or  not,  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  discuss  here.  The  question 
has  been  treated  by  a Japanese  missionary  in  the  May  1916 
number  of  the  Catholic  World , and  we  entirely  agree  with 
him  that  under  the  circumstances  they  could  not  do  otherwise; 
the  good  of  the  missions  demanded  it.  The  fact  remains  that 
a large  number  have  left  their  missions,  many  never  to  return, 
and  not  a few  to  return  broken  in  health  if  not  in  spirits.  In 
most  European  countries  the  mission  schools  and  seminaries  are 
practically  empty,  and  now  that  the  United  States  has  decided 
to  take  a hand  in  the  great  conflict,  God  grant  that  our  own 
clergy  and  seminaries  be  not  similarly  affected  by  the  war. 

3 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


However,  even  assuming  that  Providence  will  give  the  world 
a speedy  peace;  that  new  mission  societies  will  arise;  that  the 
old  ones  will  extend  their  recruiting  activities;  that  the  su- 
periors of  the  missions  will  so  place  their  missionaries  as  to 
cover  the  maximum  ground  with  the  minimum  number — still 
for  all  these  effects,  the  situation  bids  fair  to  be  hopelessly  out 
of  hand  within  one  generation,  if  we  are  forever  to  depend  so 
largely  on  extra-mission  sources  of  supply.  But  by  fostering 
the  largest  possible  number  of  vocations  among  the  natives  of 
the  various  missions  themselves,  we  may  solve  an  immediate 
problem ; at  any  rate  we  shall  be  working  toward  the  entirely 
desirable  consummation  of  making  the  Church  indigenous  in 
mission  countries.  Bishop  Seguin,  P.F.M.,  of  Kui-chou,  China, 
writes:  “ If  I am  to  insure  the  future  of  my  mission  I must 
strain  every  effort  to  prepare  a native  clergy  now.”  This  is 
the  view  taken  by  all  the  bishops  in  the  mission  field. 

The  Church  wants  Native  Clergy. 

The  formation  of  a native  clergy  for  the  evangelization  of 
heathen  lands  has  always  been  the  wish  of  the  Church.  In  the 
sixteenth  century  St.  Francis  Xavier  recommended  it  be  done 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  Leo  XIII  wrote  in  his  letter  to  the 
Hindus  (1893)  : “The  zeal  of  the  missionaries  from  Europe 
meets  with  many  obstacles,  the  greatest  being  the  ignorance 
of  a language  sometimes  most  difficult  to  master,  and  new 
customs  and  habits  to  which  one  is  not  used  even  after  many 
years.  It  is  evident  that  native  priests  will  inspire  greater  con- 
fidence and  their  work  will  be  followed  by  more  lasting  results.” 

This  is  the  reason  why  when  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Pro- 
paganda entrusts  to  a religious  order  or  missionary  society  a 
portion  of  the  world  to  evangelize,  it  recommends  the  establish- 
ment of  seminaries  where  natives  will  be  trained  for  the  priest- 
hood and  prepared  to  preach  and  minister  to  their  countrymen. 
Native  clergy  alone  will  strengthen  the  position  of  the  Church  ; 
it  cannot  be  said  to  be  solidly  implanted  in  a country  where 
there  is  no  native  clergy,  even  if  all  the  inhabitants  were  con- 
verted to  the  faith. 

Have  the  instructions  of  the  Propaganda  been  faithfully 
obeyed?  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  discuss  this  point.  We  may 
say  in  passing  that  certain  superiors  seem  more  anxious  to  re- 

4 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


cruit  members  for  their  congregations  than  for  the  secular 
clergy,  on  whom  nevertheless  rests  the  real  organization  of 
a diocese. 

Number  of  Native  Priests  in  the  Far  East. 

It  must  not  be  believed,  however,  that  nothing  has  been  done 
in  this  direction.  At  present  there  are  60  native  priests  in 
Japan  and  Corea;  830  in  China;  700  in  Indo-China;  850  in 
India  and  Ceylon.  This  is  certainly  a good  beginning,  but 
only  a beginning.  Multiplied  by  a hundred,  the  number  of 
those  native  priests  would  not  be  too  large  for  the  gigantic 
task  of  converting  the  eight  hundred  millions  of  heathens  or 
infidels  of  the  Asiatic  continent. 

Let  us  observe  here  that  the  remarks  which  follow  do  not 
apply  to  Africa  and  the  Islands  of  the  Pacific  and  the  South 
Seas.  The  question  of  a native  clergy  for  those  countries  must 
be  treated  separately. 

At  present  an  urgent  propaganda  is  being  carried  on  by  all 
missionary  bishops  for  the  increase  of  the  native  clergy  to  fill 
gaps  in  the  ranks  of  European  missionaries.  We  are  not 
ignorant  of  the  danger  of  going  too  fast  in  this  important  but 
delicate  matter.  Oriental  characteristics  are  to  be  reckoned 
with,  and  while  they  do  not  invalidate  our  hopes  they  caution 
us  to  infinite  patience  and  prudence.  Still,  cultivated  the  na- 
tive element  must  be.  It  was  always  a duty ; it  has  become  a 
necessity.  No  missionary  society  or  bishop  but  has  made  ex- 
periments and  formed  opinions  as  to  the  methods  best  calcu- 
lated to  attain  an  end  which  all  alike  admit  to  be  essential. 
What  concerns  us  is  that,  from  our  correspondence  with  the 
missions,  we  become  increasingly  alive  to  the  fact  that  the 
financial  situation  is  the  chief  bar  to  sure,  if  slow,  success.  Be- 
fore showing  how  we  can  save  the  day,  a few  remarks  on  the 
training  of  the  native  clergy  and  on  the  quality  of  its  work  may 
interest  our  readers  and  stimulate  their  charity. 

Seminaries  in  Mission  Countries. 

As  early  as  the  year  1664,  Bishop  Lambert  de  la  Motte, 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Paris  Society  for  Foreign  Missions, 
established  at  Juthia  (Siam)  a general  seminary  which  would 
admit  pupils  from  all  the  missions  of  Cochin-China,  Tonkin, 

5 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


China,  India,  Corea,  and  Japan.  Twelve  years  later,  in  1680, 
thirty  natives  had  already  been  ordained  to  the  priesthood,  and 
the  number  of  the  faithful  increased  with  remarkable  rapidity. 

In  1805  the  seminary  of  Juthia  was  transferred  to  Pulo 
Penang,  in  the  Malacca  Peninsula.  Owing  to  the  foundation 
of  a number  of  local  seminaries  by  bishops  desirous  of  sparing 
their  clerics  long  separation  from  their  relatives,  costly  jour- 
neys, change  of  climates,  etc.,  the  seminary  of  Pulo  Penang 
has  not  the  same  importance  as  formerly,  but  there  is  probably 
no  seminary  in  the  world  that  has  the  honor,  as  this  one  has,  of 
having  given  over  a hundred  martyrs  to  the  Church,  several  of 
whom  have  been  beatified. 

In  1893  Pope  Leo  XIII  founded  a general  seminary  for 
India  at  Kandy,  in  the  Island  of  Ceylon,  and  placed  it  under 
the  direction  of  Jesuit  Fathers  of  the  Belgian  Province.  Up  to 
date  it  has  given  over  150  priests  to  the  Church  in  India,  of 
whom  two  have  been  raised  to  the  episcopacy,  Mgr.  Kaudatkil, 
coadjutor  to  the  Vicar  Apostolic  of  Ernaculam,  1911,  and 
Mgr.  Beekmayer,  Bishop  of  Kandy,  in  1912.  Bishop  Kaudat- 
kil is  a Syrian  of  the  Malabar  rite,  and  Bishop  Beekmayer  is  a 
native  of  Ceylon  and  a member  of  the  Benedictine  Order. 

Those  two  houses  receive  students  from  dioceses  and  vicari- 
ates which,  being  of  recent  foundation,  have  not  as  yet  their 
own  preparatory  college  and  seminary. 

The  Course  of  Study. 

When  signs  of  vocation  are  observed,  the  children  are  sent 
to  a preparatory  school.  The  selection  is  always  made  among 
the  children  of  families  that  have  been  Christian  at  least  for 
two  or  three  generations;  it  takes  a long  time  to  eradicate  com- 
pletely the  virus  of  heathenism  which  has  poisoned  these  poor 
people  for  thousands  of  years. 

After  two  or  three  years  of  training,  if  the  boys  prove  satis- 
factory they  are  sent  to  college,  where  their  education  is  con- 
tinued. They  have  the  usual  studies — grammar,  geography, 
arithmetic,  the  sciences,  and  Latin,  which  they  are  taught  to 
write  accurately  and  to  speak  fluently.  Latin  is  the  language 
of  the  house,  and  all  their  philosophical  and  theological  studies 
are  pursued  in  that  tongue.  We  often  receive  letters  in  Latin 
from  Chinese  and  Japanese  priests  and  we  may  say  that  few  of 
our  priests  could  equal  them  for  correctness  and  elegance. 

6 


FR.  GRIMARD,  P.  F.  M„  AND  SEMINARIANS  OF  KWEI-CHOU,  CHINA. 


FR.  MARTIN,  O.  P„  AND  SEMINARIANS  AT  BUI-CHU,  TONKIN. 


THE  LATE  BISHOP  PAGNANI,  WITH  NATIVE  PRIESTS  OF  KANDY 

(CEYLON). 

The  first  on  the  right  (seated)  is  the  present  Bishop  of  Kandy,  Bishop  Beekmeyer, 

O.  S.  B. 


THE  FIRST  MASS  OF  A NEWLY-ORDAINED  CHINESE  PRIEST. 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


Great  attention  is  also  given  to  the  study  of  history  and 
literature,  that  they  may  be  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  scholars 
of  the  country. 

After  the  classical  course  they  spend  a couple  of  years  in 
the  school  for  catechists.  When  they  have  graduated  they 
are  sent  by  the  bishop  for  several  years  to  teach  the  elements 
of  Christian  doctrine  to  little  orphans,  school  children,  cate- 
chumens, and  patients  in  the  hospitals.  If  their  work  has  been 
satisfactory  they  are  admitted  into  the  seminary  for  a five  or 
six  years’  course  which  comprises  all  the  branches  of  eccles- 
iastical science. 

Most  native  students  would  make  good  figure  in  our  semi- 
naries. The  Oriental  mind  is  subtle  and  grasps  promptly  philo- 
sophical and  theological  questions.  Perhaps  they  do  not  as- 
similate as  much  as  might  be  desirable,  but  this  must  not  sur- 
prise us.  Who  is  the  American  or  European  able  to  under- 
stand Oriental  logic  thoroughly?  The  difficulties  we  find  in 
trying  to  read  the  Eastern  mind,  Orientals  encounter  in  the 
philosophical  systems  of  the  Western  world.  With  this  excep- 
tion, we  may  say  that  Japanese,  Chinese,  Annamites,  Hindu 
seminarians  make  very  good  students. 

Generally,  in  our  houses  of  education,  young  professors  be- 
gin to  teach  the  minor  classes  and  are  raised  by  degrees  to  the 
higher  courses ; the  contrary  is  the  case  in  the  Far  East.  They 
begin  teaching  Theology,  then  Philosophy,  then  the  classics, 
and  finally  after  several  years,  when  they  are  thoroughly  con- 
versant with  the  language  and  customs  of  the  country,  are  ap- 
pointed to  teach  in  the  lower  classes,  grammar,  Latin,  etc.  It 
is  in  fact  much  more  difficult  to  understand  the  mentality  of 
those  boys  and  to  place  within  their  reach  a teaching  for  which 
they  have  been  little  prepared  by  their  early  education  than  to 
teach  young  men  who  have  spent  several  years  in  college  and 
seminary  and  know  Latin  thoroughly;  furthermore,  a perfect 
knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  country  is  necessary,  and  it 
takes  years  of  study  and  practice  to  acquire  this. 

Discipline  and  Religious  Training. 

The  rules  of  houses  of  education  in  the  countries  named  are 
different  from  ours.  Much  more  time  is  given  to  rest  and 
recreation.  No  Oriental  mind  could  stand  a system  of  studies 

7 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


as  intense  as  that  given  to  our  students.  And  even  with  that 
moderation,  how  many  clerics  giving  great  hopes  for  the  future 
have  died  at  twenty  or  twenty-five  from  debility  caused  by 
study. 

The  discipline  is  not  as  severe  as  in  our  seminaries  and  needs 
not  be.  “ When  I was  appointed  professor  in  the  seminary,” 
writes  a missionary  who  has  spent  a long  life  in  that  respon- 
sible position,  “ I was  struck  by  the  seriousness  of  the  students ; 
in  the  Far  East  the  boy  wants  to  be  considered  as  a man  and 
aims  at  acting  as  such.  In  fact  it  is  not  necessary  to  exercise 
much  supervision  over  our  students.” 

The  religious  training  is  of  course  the  same  as  in  our  semi- 
naries. Whatever  the  latitude  under  which  they  are  born, 
whatever  their  mentality,  all  men  suffer  from  the  same  conse- 
quences of  original  sin ; they  all  have  the  same  passions  which 
must  be  regulated  or  guarded  against.  The  same  spiritual 
exercises  as  with  us  are  made  use  of  to  attain  that  end : Mass, 
Communion,  meditation,  visits  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
monthly  recollections,  annual  retreats,  etc. 

To  urge  them  to  the  love  and  service  of  God,  not  a few  of 
these  seminarians  have  incentives  and  family  traditions  un- 
known to  us.  In  their  youth,  at  home,  they  may  have  been 
told  by  their  parents:  “Your  great  grandfather  suffered  for 
the  Faith  ; he  was  in  prison  for  one  or  several  years;  he  was  tor- 
tured and  finally  strangled;  ” or  “ Your  grandfather  was  be- 
headed because  he  refused  to  abjure  Christ  our  Saviour!  ” In 
those  countries  where  reverence,  almost  worship,  for  ancestors 
is  so  deeply  implanted  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  it  is  un- 
necessary to  add  : ‘‘You  must  be  worthy  of  your  forefathers  ! ” 

There  are  seminaries  where  certain  students  have  relatives 
or  ancestors  who  have  been  raised  to  our  Altars  by  the  Church, 
and  every  day  they  may  pray  before  their  relics  exposed  to  pub- 
lic veneration.  There  are  others  where  students  may  visit  oc- 
casionally a “ Field  of  Martyrs  ” — spots  where  confessors  of 
the  Faith  were  executed  not  many  years  ago.  The  seminary 
of  Ryong-San  in  Corea  is  only  a few  miles  distant  from  the 
“ Mountain  of  the  Three  Saints  ”,  where  Bishop  Imbert  and 
Fathers  Maubant  and  Chastan  were  put  to  death  in  1839 ; semi- 
narians go  there  for  rest  and  meditation.  The  seminary  of 
Keso  in  Western  Tonkin  is  in  the  midst  of  cities  and  towns 

8 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


where  many  priests  and  Christians  suffered  martyrdom.  F rom 
the  college  of  Phu-senan  in  North  Cochin-China  it  is  only  a 
few  minutes’  walk  to  the  bridge  of  Boi-dau  where  Blessed 
Isidor  Gagelin  was  strangled,  he  being  the  first  martyr  ot  the 
Annamite  persecutions  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  Seminary  of  Nagasaki  (Japan),  which  was  begun  in 
1866  and  which  has  already  given  54  native  priests,  is  located 
at  Oura,  opposite  the  Holy  Mount  where  in  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  hundreds  of  missionaries  and  Christians 
were  put  to  death  for  the  Faith  after  excruciating  tortures. 
What  an  incentive  for  the  students  to  visit  in  Nagasaki  the 
places  where  26  martyrs  were  crucified  in  1597,  among  them 
a Mexican  and  Franciscan  Brother,  St.  Philip  of  Jesus. 

Another  Trial. 

Before  taking  the  decisive  step  of  subdeaconship,  the  semi- 
narian must  spend  another  year  or  two  in  some  mission  and 
labor  with  an  experienced  missionary,  to  learn  all  about  the 
work,  to  try  his  strength  and  show  what  he  may  do  later  on. 
The  test  of  the  battlefield  proves  the  soldier’s  real  courage. 
If  he  returns  with  a favorable  report  he  resumes  his  studies 
and  is  ordained  in  due  time,  generally  not  before  he  is  30  or 
35  years  of  age  and  sometimes  older.  If  the  trial  has  not  been 
satisfactory  he  may  be  given  a second  one  with  another  mis- 
sionary, after  which  a final  decision  is  reached. 

Do  Natives  make  Good  Priests? 

We  will  let  Bishop  Reynaud,  C.M.,  of  E.  Chekiang  answer 
the  question;  he  has  been  in  China  for  forty-three  years,  has  a 
number  of  native  priests  under  his  jurisdiction,  and  a seminary 
with  55  students;  he  is  therefore  well  acquainted  with  the  sub- 
ject. “ The  native  priests,”  he  writes,  “ are  always  valuable 
auxiliaries.  They  work  well  and  render  great  services  to  reli- 
gion. They  are  almost  indispensable  because  they  understand 
far  better  than  Europeans  the  language  and  customs  of  the 
country  and  the  mentality,  prejudices,  aspirations,  and  defects 
of  their  compatriots.  All  this  knowledge  is  very  necessary  for 
the  progress  of  religion,  and  in  regulating  any  difficulties  that 
may  arise  in  the  direction  of  the  vicariate. 

9 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


“ To  try  to  get  on  without  the  help  of  native  priests  would 
be  to  render  ourselves  unable  to  do  good.  They  are  like  bridges 
between  us  and  the  people.  The  natives  talk  to  them  before 
they  come  to  us.  I might  almost  say  they  acclimatize  the 
Faith  in  a country  suspicious  of  all  that  comes  from  the  outside 
world.  This  is,  therefore,  the  work  of  works,  the  most  urgent, 
the  most  efficacious,  the  most  deserving.  It  is  also  the  most 
expensive  . . . .” 

Bishop  Perini,  S.J.,  of  Mangalore,  India,  wrote  us  recently: 
“ The  six  native  priests  educated  in  my  local  seminary  and 
ordained  last  September,  have  taken  up  work  in  various  stations 
and  show  great  zeal  and  ability.  Thus  the  many  sacrifices  I 
had  to  make  during  their  nine  years  of  seminary  life  are  fully 
recompensed  by  the  excellent  work  they  are  doing.” 

Work  of  the  Native  Clergy. 

The  native  priests  work  in  the  ministiy  either  as  assistants 
or  pastors,  no  distinction  being  made  between  them  and  the 
European  missionaries,  although  they  are  not  subject  to  the 
special  rules  of  the  Religious  Orders  to  which  the  latter  may 
belong.  They  are  sometimes  at  the  head  of  important  parishes 
of  three  or  four  thousand  Catholics,  as  in  India,  or  of  one  thous- 
and, as  in  China,  Japan,  Corea.  They  are  also  employed  as 
professors  in  colleges  or  seminaries.  Some  write  or  translate 
works  of  devotion  or  instruction.  We  cannot  publish  a com- 
plete catalogue,  but  here  are  a few  titles : Sebattiana  parvadam 
(Mountain  of  Prayer  and  Meditation)  by  Father  Louis; 
Mote  ha  radari  (Passport  for  Heaven)  by  Father  Rattinanader  ; 
Ieju  talei  sarppa  sangaram  (Destruction  of  the  Seven  Deadly 
Snakes)  by  Father  Arokianadar.  All  these  authors  are  Hindu 
priests. 

We  know  of  at  least  thirty  volumes  published  by  Japanese 
and  twenty  by  Annamite  priests.  In  Western  Cochin-China 
Father  Qui  has  published  Sack  gam  quant  nam  (Meditations 
for  Every  Day  of  the  Year)  in  five  volumes.  From  a literary 
point  of  view  the  best  known  priest  in  Western  Tonkin  was 
Father  Six.  He  wrote  books  of  poetry  much  admired  by  An- 
namite scholars,  and  by  his  diplomatic  abilities  rendered  in- 
valuable services  both  to  his  country  and  the  missions  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest  of  Tonkin  by  France.  He  was  appointed 

io 


BISHOP  PERROS,  P.  F.  M„  AND  THE  NATIVE  CLERGY  OF  SIAM. 


BISHOP  GIRAUDEAU,  P.  F.  M.,  VIC.  APOST.  OF  THIBET,  WITH  MIS- 
SIONARIES, NATIVE  PRIESTS  AND  SCHOOL  BOYS. 


THE  LATE  BISHOP  COQSET,  C.  M„  OF  S.  W.  TCHE-LI  (CHINA),  AND 
SOME  OF  HIS  NATIVE  PRIESTS. 


STUDENTS  IN  THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  SEMINARY  OF  HANGCHAU 

(CHINA). 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


honorary  minister  by  the  Annamite  authorities  and  made  an 
officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  by  the  French  Government. 

As  far  as  moral  character  is  concerned,  we  have  no  hesitation 
to  say  that  the  native  priests  of  Japan,  China,  Indo-China,  and 
India  compare  favorably  with  the  clergy  of  America  and 
Europe.  They  are  pious,  devoted  and  zealous  workers.  De- 
fects of  race,  cast,  temperament  they  have,  like  the  clergy  of  any 
other  country ; they  might  be  more  learned,  more  humble, 
more  disinterested,  like  many  of  our  own  clergy ; but  scandals 
are  rare  and  defections  not  more  numerous  than  with  us. 
What  the  late  Bishop  Bonnand  of  Pondicherry  wrote  years 
ago  is  still  true : “ We  may  endeavor  to  improve  our  native 
clergy,  but  it  needs  no  radical  change  in  its  constitution.” 

The  native  clergy  of  the  Far  East  have  written  some  glori- 
ous pages  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Frightful  persecu- 
tions took  place  in  those  unhappy  countries  throughout  the 
nineteenth  century.  In  the  provinces  of  Tonkin  and  Cochin- 
China  alone,  79  native  priests  were  put  to  death  for  the  Faith 
between  the  years  1858  and  1862.  One  of  them  who  had  been 
recently  ordained,  Father  James  Nam,  being  urged  to  apos- 
tatize, exclaimed:  “ I,  a priest,  could  trample  on  the  Cross? 
abandon  a Church  of  which  I am  a minister?  Must  I not  prac- 
tise what  I preach?  A Christian  must  die  rather  than  give 
up  his  Faith,  and  who  will  die  for  the  Faith  if  the  priest  does 
not  set  the  example?  ” 

In  China  and  Corea  numerous  were  the  martyrs  among  the 
native  clergy;  eighteen  were  placed  on  our  Altars  by  Pope 
Leo  XIII  in  1900,  and  seven  by  Pope  Pius  X in  1909. 

Native  Priests  may  save  the  Church  in  Their 
Countries. 

The  native  clergy  are  not  merely  useful  as  auxiliaries  to  the 
missionaries ; they  may  be  called  upon  to  replace  them  in  case 
of  emergency  and  thus  save  the  very  existence  of  the  Church 
in  their  countries.  In  fact,  history  shows  that  they  have  done 
so  on  several  occasions.  At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century 
when  the  French  revolution  and  the  Napoleonic  Wars  pre- 
vented the  training  and  sending  of  missionaries  for  many  years, 
it  was  by  two  or  three  hundred  priests  that  the  ministry  was 
continued  in  the  Far  East.  The  same  thing  is  taking  place  at 

11 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


the  present  time;  owing  to  the  departure  of  a number  of  the 
European  missionaries,  in  many  a place  the  practice  of  religion 
would  be  discontinued  but  for  the  native  clergy  who  at  the  cost 
of  great  sacrifices  are  supplying  the  places  of  their  absent 
brethren. 

On  the  other  hand  history  shows  that  if  at  certain  periods 
persecutions  succeeded  in  extinguishing  the  Church  absolutely 
in  a country,  it  may  have  been  due  to  the  lack  of  native  clergy. 
In  the  fourteenth  century  there  were  no  less  than  eleven  arch- 
bishops or  bishops,  with  a corresponding  number  of  priests  in 
China,  all  Europeans,  and  the  Christians  numbered  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand;  but  we  have  no  record  that  an  effort 
was  ever  made  to  educate  any  native  for  the  priesthood.  In 
1483  the  last  missionary  to  that  unfortunate  country  was  put 
to  death,  and  when  two  centuries  later  the  first  Jesuit  priests 
arrived  in  Peking  they  found  no  traces  of  Christianity. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  Church  of  Japan  would  have 
been  saved  if  St.  Francis  Xavier’s  advice  to  educate  and  ordain 
natives  had  been  followed.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that, 
despite  the  absence  of  clergy,  the  Faith  was  kept  alive  and  cer- 
tain religious  practices  observed  for  over  two  centuries  among 
several  thousands  of  Japanese,  as  was  discovered  in  1865  by  the 
first  French  missionaries  who  had  resumed  a few  years  before 
the  evangelization  of  the  country. 

Why  not  a Larger  Number  of  Native  Priests? 

The  question  which  will  probably  now  occur  to  our  readers 
is  the  following:  If  the  native  clergy  of  the  Far  East  possess 
the  qualities  described  above,  if  they  are  capable  of  rendering 
such  eminent  services,  why  not  multiply  their  number,  especi- 
ally now  that  the  supply  of  missionaries  from  Europe  is  threat- 
ened to  grow  considerably  less? 

It  is  in  order  to  answer  this  question  that  we  have  presented 
the  foregoing  remarks  to  American  Catholics  and  more  especi- 
ally to  our  brethren  in  the  clergy,  at  the  request  of  numerous 
bishops  of  those  countries. 

The  reason  why  the  native  clergy  is  not  more  numerous  in 
the  Far  East  is  not  the  lack  of  vocations,  but  the  lack  of  funds 
to  educate  the  candidates. 


12 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


Now,  as  in  the  time  of  our  Lord,  it  is  to  the  poor  that  the 
Gospel  is  preached.  The  proud  Japanese,  the  rich  Chinese, 
and  the  opulent  Hindu  have  no  inclination  to  listen  to  the  mis- 
sionary. The  great  majority  of  converts  come  from  the  poor- 
est part  of  the  nation.  Parents  therefore  can  pay  practically 
nothing  toward  the  education  of  their  children ; indeed  the 
bishop  must  be  grateful  when  they  consent  to  deprive  them- 
selves of  the  valuable  services  these  young  men  could  have 
rendered  in  lessening  the  burden  of  the  family. 

From  this  it  follows  that  from  the  time  a boy  enters  the  pre- 
paratory school,  then  college,  then  seminary,  up  to  the  day  of 
his  ordination  he  must  be  supported  by  the  mission.  For  semi- 
narians, we  except  the  years  of  probation  during  which  they 
are  supported  by  the  missionaries  they  assist.  Of  course  the 
cost  of  maintaining  a boy  in  college  and  a young  man  in  semi- 
nary is  less  than  here.  But  when  we  consider  that  some  mis- 
sions have  one  hundred,  and  in  some  cases  as  many  as  two 
hundred  seminarians  or  college  boys,  it  will  be  admitted  that 
their  support  must  be  a cause  of  anxiety  for  the  bishop.  In 
fact,  of  late,  several  bishops  have  been  obliged  because  of  lack 
of  resources  to  dismiss  a number  of  their  students.  Not  long 
ago  a bishop  from  Japan  wrote  us : “ I may  be  able  to  keep  our 
seminary  open  for  another  year;  after  that,  if  Providence  does 
not  come  to  my  rescue,  I will  have  to  close  it.” 

What  is  the  Cost  of  Maintaining  a Student  in  a 
Seminary? 

It  is  impossible  to  give  to  this  question  an  answer  that  will 
cover  all  the  missions  of  the  Far  East,  because  the  cost  of  liv- 
ing is  not  the  same  in  all  those  countries.  It  is  higher  for  in- 
stance in  India  or  Japan  than  in  China.  After  gathering  much 
information  on  the  subject  we  may  state  that  an  average  of 
$60.00  a year  is  sufficient  to  support  a native  student  in  the 
departments  of  Theology  or  Philosophy.  We  do  not  suggest 
any  specific  sum  for  the  earlier  years,  because  (as  in  our  own 
colleges)  the  sifting  process  is  not  over  at  that  time,  and  bene- 
factors are  apt  to  be  permanently  discouraged  if  the  subject 
in  whom  they  are  interested  happens  not  to  develop  a voca- 
tion. The  total  cost  therefore  would  be  $360.00  for  a course  of 
six  years  in  the  seminary. 


13 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


Some  may  be  surprised  at  the  small  amount  required,  but 
we  must  remember  that  in  those  countries  the  value  of  money 
is  higher  and  the  cost  of  living  lower  than  with  us ; that  the 
professors  receive  no  salary,  and  that  the  young  men  live  more 
frugally  than  we  do.  The  comfort,  not  to  say  the  sumptuous- 
ness, of  certain  American  seminaries  is  unknown  in  Chinese 
and  Hindu  seminaries. 

How  many  priests  in  the  United  States  could  spare  $5.00  a 
month  from  their  salary  and  pay  for  the  education  of  a young 
man  who  will  one  day  be  his  brother  in  the  priesthood?  How 
many  Catholics,  not  desirous  to  foster  a sacerdotal  vocation 
in  their  sons,  could  with  that  small  amount  help  those  who  are 
anxious  to  give  themselves  to  the  Lord,  but  have  not  the  means? 
Many  parishes  in  the  United  States  have  never  given  a priest 
to  the  Church,  although  they  have  long  been  benefited  by  the 
services  of  one  of  God’s  ministers.  As  a mark  of  gratitude  for 
that  blessing  could  they  not  pay  for  a student  in  the  field  afar 
and  thus  make  up  for  what  they  are  unable  to  furnish  from 
their  own  ranks? 

The  offer  of  supporting  a student  in  the  seminary  is  always 
gratefully  accepted  by  our  missionary  bishops.  But  naturally 
they  much  prefer  to  have  in  hand  the  capital  which  will  pro- 
duce the  necessary  yearly  amount.  In  other  words  the  foun- 
dation of  a burse  in  perpetuity  is  preferable  to  a monthly  or 
even  a yearly  payment.  The  benefactor  who  has  promised 
such  payment  may  become  unable  to  continue  it,  and  the  bishop 
who  on  the  strength  of  that  promise  has  received  a student  has 
to  make  up  the  deficiency. 

What  is  the  Cost  of  Founding  a Burse? 

It  is  the  ambition  of  every  priest  to  “ continue  himself  at 
the  Altar  The  burse  is  the  obvious  means.  Now  not  every 
priest  can  afford  the  large  amount  required  to  produce  an  in- 
terest sufficient  for  the  maintenance  of  a student  in  one  of  our 
American  seminaries.  In  mission  countries  the  amount  is  con- 
siderably less ; besides  which  fact,  many  are  rightly  anxious  to 
place  their  money  where,  without  it,  there  will  be  no  priest. 

The  amount  to  be  required  for  one  of  these  burses  is  a 
matter  of  considerable  difficulty  for  reasons  mentioned  above. 
Various  missionary  bishops  quote  widely  divergent  figures,  but 

14 


BISHOP  MAQUET,  S.  J„  OF  S.  E.  TCHE-LI  (CHINA),  AND  SIX  NEWLY- 
ORDAINED  NATIVE  PRIESTS. 


THE  CHOIR  OF  THE  PREPARATORY  SEMINARY  OF  S.  SHANSI  (CHINA). 


FR.  LEO  TING,  C.  M„  ON  AN  APOSTOLIC  JOURNEY— CHE  KIANG 

(CHINA). 


STUDENTS  FROM  THE  SEMINARY  OF  S.  SHAN-TUNG  (CHINA),  IN 
CHARGE  OF  FATHERS  OF  THE  DIVINE  WORD. 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


we  must  have  a uniform  rate  for  justice’s  sake.  Taking  there- 
fore an  average,  we  venture  to  state  that  a sum  of  $1000.00 
will  found  a burse  in  perpetuity  for  the  training  of  an  eccles- 
iastical student  in  any  seminary  in  Japan,  Corea,  China,  Indo- 
China,  and  India.  Attempts  to  “ underbid  ” us  in  these  figures 
will  of  course  be  made;  but  on  mature  reflection  we  are  con- 
vinced that  this  will  be  definitely  to  the  detriment  of  the  cause 
for  which  we  are  alike  working. 

Besides  this  desire  on  the  part  of  the  priests  to  provide  for 
themselves  a successor  at  the  Altar,  another  burse-producing 
thought  is  that  of  a bishop  or  a seminary  president  who  be- 
lieves that  the  blessing  of  God  will  be  on  his  own  institution 
if  from  its  more  or  less  abundant  resources  it  provides  for  the 
education  of  one  native  seminarian  abroad.  We  know  of  at 
least  one  seminary  in  the  United  States  that  has  already 
adopted  this  plan,  having  undertaken  to  provide  by  gradual 
small  amounts  paid  yearly,  a complete  burse  for  a seminary 
in  India. 

Some  time  ago  we  had  the  visit  of  a Chinese  bishop  and 
in  the  course  of  a conversation  on  this  subject  he  remarked: 
“ It  is  easy  for  you  to  urge  the  formation  of  a native  clergy,  but 
not  only  do  I have  to  pay  the  expense  of  their  education,  but 
also  to  support  them,  in  part  at  least,  after  they  are  ordained. 
Where  shall  I find  the  means  ? ” A bishop  from  Japan  recently 
wrote  us  that  he  could  ordain  four  or  five  priests  every  year 
but  refrained  from  doing  so  as  he  did  not  know  where  to  find 
the  money  for  their  support. 

A native  will  of  course  live  on  much  less  than  a European ; 
in  any  part  of  the  Far  East  an  extra  allowance  of  ten  dollars 
per  month  will  probably  suffice,  in  some  parts  even  less. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  a heavy  burden  for  a bishop  when  he  has 
a large  number  to  support,  like  Bishop  Munagorri,  O.P.,  who 
has  92  native  priests  in  his  Vicariate  of  Central  Tonkin.  As 
we  remarked  above,  the  Christians  belong  to  the  poorest  part 
of  the  population  and  generally  have  large  families ; they  can 
contribute  but  little  to  the  support  of  their  pastors. 

Here  again  to  pay  every  year  ($120.00)  for  the  support  of 
a priest  in  these  missions,  or  to  found  a burse  for  that  purpose 
(from  $1500.00  to  $2000.00),  would  be  a meritorious  act  of 
charity.  We  know  of  an  American  bishop  who  for  several 

15 


NATIVE  CLERGY  FOR  MISSION  COUNTRIES 


years  has  been  supporting  two  priests  in  China  as  a means  of 
obtaining  the  blessing  of  God  on  his  own  diocese. 

An  Appeal. 

This  appeal  is  addressed  especially  to  the  clergy,  but  it 
might  be  heard  by  the  laity  as  well.  There  are  good  Catholic 
parents  of  boys  who  seemed  to  be  called  to  the  priesthood  but 
whom  our  Lord  took  before  they  reached  the  Altar.  There  is 
no  more  suitable  memorial  to  the  departed  one  than  to  provide 
for  a substitute.  Bishop  Demange,  P.F.M.,  of  Corea  wrote 
the  following : “ It  is  praiseworthy  to  build  temples  to  the  glory 
of  God,  but  a far  greater  charity  to  give  to  the  Church  a priest 
who  will  build  Him  temples  of  souls.  To  be  represented  by 
an  apostle  who  offers  up  each  day  of  his  life  the  Divine  Victim, 
and  who  labors  continually  for  the  extension  of  our  Saviour’s 
Kingdom  would  seem  to  me  a work  of  predestination.” 

Another  bishop,  asking  for  aid  in  supporting  his  native  semi- 
narians in  China,  indulges  in  this  bit  of  fancy : “ Often  I pic- 
ture what  will  take  place  when  the  soul  of  the  clergy  or  the 
lay  person  who  has  given  a priest  to  the  missions  appears  be- 
fore the  Judgment  Seat;  possibly  that  soul  will  say:  ‘Truly, 

0 Master,  when  on  earth  I was  lacking  in  zeal  and  devotion; 

1 was  negligent  of  my  duty ; I committed  errors  through  self- 
interest  or  the  interest  of  my  family.  But  Thou  hast  said 
that  not  even  a glass  of  water  given  in  Thy  Name  shall  go 
unrewarded : therefore  Thou  wilt  remember  the  souls  saved  by 
the  priest  who,  through  my  assistance,  has  consecrated  him- 
self to  Thee,  and  Thou  wilt  have  mercy  on  me.’  ” 1 

Joseph  Freri, 

National  Director  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 

Faith. 

1 The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  will  give  further  information 
to  charitable  persons  interested  in  the  training  and  support  of  native  clergy  for 
mission  countries.  It  will  assume  all  responsibility  for  the  transmission  of 
donations  for  that  object  and  will  see  that  the  intentions  of  the  donors  are 
faithfully  carried  out. 


Date  Due 

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